What is there to say about a 20 or so minute long Christmas
special with a simplistic storyline and little to no character
development to
be found anywhere? Viewers who appreciate the Ice Age
film series are the only viewers who will have any interest
in checking out the latest trip back in time. Those viewers might find
some
worthwhile moments in A Mammoth Christmas
Special despite the shortcomings of such a brief exploration of the
Ice Age
seasonal world.

The
storyline has a significant focus on Sid (John
Leguizamo) this time around. Sid is distraught upon accidentally
destroying a Christmas
rock belonging to Manny's family. Manny (Ray Romano) loses his temper
and tells
Sid that he is going to be on Santa's naughty list. In a desperate
attempt to
remedy this and still receive "Christmas" Sid journeys to the North
Pole to try
and find Santa to be put back onto the good list. A supporting cast of
characters rounds things out a bit (the squirrel Scrat continues to
attempt to
eat an acorn and does not succeed,
even given the holiday spirit that was theoretically
suggesting that he might actually resolve some acorn-seeking ambition).
Everyone
who provided voices previously returns for the special: Denis Leary,
Queen
Latifah, Seann William Scott, and others.

Ice Age:
A Mammoth ChristmasSpecial is worthwhile. It's a nice little
blended brew of sorts. It's a modern special in the animation style
(being a
glossy computer generated effort, while traditional animated programs
seem to
be becoming even rarer for holiday specials and the like). It won't
become a
staple of holiday classics but it will be enjoyed by kids and adults in
equal measure
if viewed by Ice Age fans. There's
plenty of nice animation, the direction is a quickly paced but decently
measured experience, and the story is cute enough to bring us in to
some warm blissful
smiles. Go in to the viewing experience with decent expectations and it
should
deliver some good Christmas cheer for all. This is a quality, albeit
very brief, Christmas
special.

The
Blu-ray:

Video:

Ice Age:
A Mammoth Christmas Special arrives
on
the Blu-ray High Definition format with a notably impressive AVC
encoded transfer
in 1.78:1, which preserves the original broadcast aspect ratio of
1.78:1. The
transfer has an average bit-rate of 27 MBPS and looks splendid with
great
colors, genuine clarity, and no signs of any presentation issues that
could have
negatively impacted the pristine look or feel of the nicely produced CG
special.

Audio:

Audio is
not quite as impressive as the video
(despite the special being presented with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
track). The
clarity is strong and dialogue is easily reproduced, but the track
lacks truly
immersive surround usage in comparison to the actual Ice
Age flicks and a sense of weak output from the subwoofer is
noticeable throughout. The audio is good but it definitely feels more
like a
television production. (Please Note:
That's actually what it was.)

Extras:

Does a
poorly edited music video with screeching and
cringe-worthy music set to clips from the already brief Christmas
special and a
sneak peak of the upcoming Ice Age:
Continental Drift theatrical film count as extras? I
don't think so but for those curious these are included on the
disc. Sadly... there still remains to be a commentary track from the
acorn about
the overall experience of working with Scrat all of these years. Maybe
a
double-dip is looming?

Final
Thoughts:

Fans
will definitely want to check it out if they
enjoy celebrating the most wonderful time of the year and should
give it a
spin to see if it's the kind of special that might be frequently
revisited during
the Christmas season. It's nothing groundbreaking, and it relies
heavily on a
formula established for Ice Age that
seemed to happen... well, ages ago.
Nonetheless, it works some Christmas magic with enough charm and heart
to be worth
sharing with one's family. While casual fans are encouraged to rent
first
considering how short the special is, diehard's who know it will be
watched
over-and-over can make purchasing decisions more easily. Recommended.